The 65th Hunger Games
by the100forever24
Summary: Finnick Odair wasn't always the charming, heart-throb of the capital. This story tells of how he became who he is, starting at the reaping.


_**Hi. This is just something I've wanted to do for a while now, but never really got round to. I hope you guys enjoy.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Suzanne Collins owns the hunger games :(**_

 **Finnick's POV**

"Finnick! You're going to be late!"

I wake to the sound of my mother's voice, calling to me from the kitchen in out two floor, four bedroom house. There are three sections of district four; poor, middle class and rich. There are hardly any houses in the richer section, however. It consists of the mayor's house, the peacekeepers houses and the victor's village. My mother, father, sister and I live in the middle class area, where most people work in boat fishing.

"Finnick! School, now!" My mother calls, her voice becoming more urgent.

"Coming!" I yell back, rolling out of bed with a sigh. After rifling through the mess of clothes on my floor, I find a clean enough black t-shirt and a pair of dark denim shorts. I stand in front of the mirror and hastily run a hand through my messy bronze hair. Once I've deemed myself presentable, I grab my backpack and sprint downstairs. I skid to a halt in the kitchen.

"Hey, mum." I say, helping myself to a slice of toast. "What time is it?"

My mother raises her eyebrows, arms crossed "8:55."

"Shit!" I curse. School starts in five minutes.

"Finnick Odair! Language!" she scolds.

"Sorry, mum!" I yell over my shoulder as I sprint out the door.

 **Fdlflddlgdlgdglfglskgdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddkgggggkkggggggggggkggggg**

I stop, panting, with my hands on my knees just outside the entrance to the school. The bell rings loudly. "Aw, crap!" I'm late. Again.

"Mr. Odair! How nice of you to join us."

It's way too early for me to deal with sarcastic English teachers, so I just rush to my seat in the back row. Two twins, Olive and Piper Rosestone, turn round and wink at me. As tomorrow is reaping day, most people are quiet and withdrawn today, with the exception of any wannabe careers. And, apparently, these two airheads. "Hi Finnick." They chorus, giggling and flipping their hair.

"Er, hi." I reply, before flashing them my infamous smile in hopes of shutting them up. I really cannot afford a detention today. Miraculously, it works, and Olive winks flirtatiously before they both turn round again.

 **Jkfhifheiofheifoerugioerhgieogheriogheriogheriogherioghreiogehrgiorhgtrighreioghriogherigoherg**

By the time the bell rings for break, I am struggling to keep my eyes open. What is even the point of school? Everyone knows that, once I'm older, I'll be a fisherman just like my dad. Before the teacher can find a reason to give me detention, – it's honestly not my fault, they just all seem to hate me – I hastily grab my bag and run out the classroom.

Whilst I'm putting my books in my locker, my younger sister Hallie, comes up to me. "Have you given Annie her present, yet?"

Annie Cresta is my best friend, although I've secretly liked her for almost a year now. Despite Hallie being twelve and Annie being almost fourteen, the two are great friends. Today is Annie's fourteenth birthday, which coincidently falls the day before reaping day. "Not yet." I answer "I'll give it to her at the beach tonight after school."

I can't find Annie at break, but she's by her locker at the beginning of lunch.

"Hey, Pretty boy." She greets me with a smile. I laugh lightly at the nickname, remembering the day when she gave it to me.

 _Flashback – 2 years ago._

 _The sun is just beginning to set, and the beach is almost empty. "Go on Finnick, you got this!" my mate, Volt, says to me. He shoves me in the direction of the rocks, where a girl our age is sitting alone, her light brown hair flowing behind her. Even from a distance, I can tell she's gorgeous._

 _I fix my most charming smile on my face and saunter up to her, throwing myself down next to her. Just as I'm about to introduce myself, the girl looks up from her book and raises an eyebrow. "Can I help you?" she asks._

" _Do I need an excuse to talk to such a pretty girl?" Flattery. This works every time._

 _The girl rolls her sea-green eyes. "What do you want, pretty boy?"_

 _I blink. Okay, that was unexpected. I decide to use a different method, and laugh awkwardly "Okay, well, this is kinda embarrassing but… I'm struggling on a history essay and I heard you're really smart. I could make it up to you by taking you to the dance this Friday?"_

 _The girl stares at me for a second, before she bursts out laughing. I frown slightly, before smiling. "Is that a yes?" I ask, hopefully._

 _Once the girl has recovered, she says "Oh my god. I mean, they told me you were bad, but not_ this _bad!"_

 _I stare at her, uncomprehendingly "Uh, I'm sorry?"_

" _You ask a girl you don't even know to do your homework, and reward them by taking them on a date?" she laughs again "Apparently, you traded your brain for your good looks."_

 _I smile flirtatiously. "So, you think I'm good looking?"_

 _The girl snorts "Of course that was the only part you heard." She closes her book, and stands up to leave._

" _Wait, I didn't catch your name."_

 _She only rolls her eyes and smirks slightly. "See you around, pretty boy."_

 _End of Flashback._

"Hey, Annie." I say with a grin. "You still alright to go to the beach today."

"Do you even need to ask?" she says with a laugh "I'm there pretty much every day. I guess that's the advantage of living in district four, it's almost always beach weather."

"I guess so." I agree, with a smile "Anyway, Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks Finn," she replies, reaching up to put her arms around my neck. My arms encircle her waist and, although the gesture is familiar, it still makes me forget how to breathe.

 **Jfdfkjdfiowjfiowfjeiofjeriofjeriojferiojferioofjeriofjerifjerioojfrifjerifjerierjfierjfrifjerifjerifjrifjerirj**

The end of the day can't seem to come quick enough and, once the bell rings, Annie's waiting for me outside. I throw an arm casually over her shoulder and, ignoring the stares from everyone around us. When we arrive at the beach, we sit in our usual spot on the rocks overlooking the sea, with our legs dangling off the edge.

"I got you something." I say, handing her the presents wrapped messily in some tissue paper.

"Hey, I told you not to bother!" she says, but she's smiling. As she unwraps the gift, the smile turns into a full blown grin. Inside the first package is a circular silver locket. It's plain, except for the words _Eius Semper._

"It's Latin." I tell her "It means _Always here._ Which is where I'll be."

"Finnick…I…Thank you."

I nudge her with my elbow "Open it."

Inside it is split into two halves. On one side, there is a picture of us both taken a few months ago. We're both smiling, sitting on the top of my father's boat. The other picture was taken the same day, and shows us along with Mags, my mother, father and sister. Annie's parents died at sea when she was eight, and Mags was a close family friend, so she took her in. That's why Annie is so close to my sister and parents; she doesn't have a family of her own.

"Everyone I love in one place." Annie breathes. "I love it."

She unwraps the next one, and gasps as she sees what's inside. It's a bracelet, made from real silver and laced with real pale pink pearls. "It's beautiful!"

"One of my friend's fathers is good with metal. I collected the pearls from the sea, and he helped me make it into a bracelet."

She looks shocked. "You made this?"

Before I can reply, Annie throws her arms around me tightly, the force of her embrace almost knocking me over. When she pulls back, she's smiling. "No-one's ever done anything like this for me before." she says.

"It's a lot to live up to when my birthday comes round." I joke, grinning.

Annie smacks my arm gently "You're not very sentimental, are you?"

"Hey! I can be!" I protest.

"Try me."

"Okay, I made it for you because you deserve it. You're one of the most amazing people I know." I tell her truthfully.

She smiles, and lays her head on my shoulder. In that moment, I forget about the reaping and forget that, with each year, Annie's name goes in one more time. Of course, volunteers are possible in district four, and there's usually one every couple of years. Still, it's hard to celebrate Annie's birthday when her becoming older only increases her chances of being reaped.

 **Fjsflksjklgjeklsgjkfjssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssfkkkks**

When the sun begins to set, we decide it's time to head home. I can tell Annie's nervous about tomorrow; she's chewing anxiously on a strand of her long hair. When we reach Mags' house in victor village, she hesitates. "Finnick, I…if either of us get picked tomorrow…I just….Good luck." She stumbles over her sentence, but it's clear she's terrified one of us will be reaped.

I take her hand, "Hey," I tell her "We'll be fine. There will most likely be volunteers anyway. If not, it will probably be someone whose name is in more times."

She nods, although I can tell she's not entirely convinced. She gives me a hug and walks towards her house. As I watch her go, I realise something else. It's Hallie's first reaping tomorrow. Great, something else to worry about.

 **What did you think? Let me know in the reviews if I should continue this.**

 **Rose xo**


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